Trapped
by sweet blossom89
Summary: What if Moze and Ned were trapped in a closet? What if Ned told her how he felt? [Noze]


_**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified SSG. **_

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"**I'm going to be late!"** Moze nearly yelled as she jiggled the door again.

"Will you calm down?" Ned asked as he moved some things in Gordy's closet-sized room so that he could sit on the floor.

"No, I can't calm down. I'm going to be late for my volleyball practice! And that'll make me late for my SAT prep class! And then later I promised Greta I would visit her in the old folks home and I have tons of homework to do," she hyperventilated.

"Jennifer," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "_Calm down._ We are stuck here. There is _nothing_ we can do. Somebody has to open the door for us."

He sat on the floor as she tried dialing on her cell phone again, but had no luck. There was no signal in there. "This is your entire fault!" she cried pressing her hands against her face.

"Excuse _me_?" he asked her a raising his eyebrows. "How is this _my_ fault? I didn't force you into the room!" he argued. "And I certainly didn't tell you to close the door behind you."

"Yes it is! If I hadn't seen you I wouldn't have wanted to talk you and wouldn't have come into the room in the first place-"

"Well," Ned interrupted sarcastically, not looking at her, "I'm _sorry_ that I'm your best friend and that you have been _so_ busy lately that the only time you could talk to me today was when I was in Gordy's room, after school."

She sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry…I didn't really mean that." She leaned against the locked door finally calming down. "I'm just so tired lately, with the volleyball state tournament coming up and all our school work."

Ned only smiled lightly at her. "Don't worry. I understand. I should be saying sorry too, I didn't mean to be sarcastic either."

He patted the spot on the floor next to him and looked up at Moze. She sighed tiredly and sat next to him. Placing her head on his right shoulder, as usual, Moze closed her eyes.

"All you need to do is to loosen up a bit." He told her.

"It sounds so easy when you say it," she answered groggily.

Ned used his right hand to place her head more comfortably on his shoulder and let his fingers travel slowly through her thick hair, caressing it. "I know, but if you keep this rhythm up, you will burn yourself out."

Goosebumps traveled up her arms as Moze relaxed into his soft embrace and let his fingers continue to caress her hair. "I know, but everybody expects too many things from me."

"Well, I think you should do things because you actually want to, not because someone else expects you to do it. "

"True," she responded sighing contently. "I guess it's actually good that we're stuck at this closet now."

He chuckled in response. "I told Gordy _weeks_ ago that he should fix the lock on the door. But did he listen to me?"

She giggled softly as she thought about something else. "But you knew he wouldn't be here now. So what were you actually doing in here?"

"Oh, I just need to talk to him, so I decided I would wait for him."

"About what has been bothering you the last few weeks?" she asked suspiciously.

"H-how did you know about that?" Ned asked nervously, letting his hand drop from her hair.

"I'm your best friend, and I know you better than anyone else. How can I _not_ know?" she asked as she felt a sense of loss as his hand stopped stroking her hair.

He chuckled nervously. "I guess you're right. But I guess I just needed Gordy's advice, since Cookie couldn't give me a good one. He just kept laughing when I asked."

"You are the one who usually gives advice. And you usually tell me what's wrong unless--" She opened one eye and looked up at him.

"Unless, what, Moze?" he asked apprehensively. He hoped she wasn't suspicious. Ned had thought that she had been so busy lately that she hadn't noticed anything. But apparently he had been wrong.

"Nothing," she responded softly, still looking at him. "_You tell me everything that's bothering you,"_ she thought anxiously, "_unless…it's about me_."

"You're still wondering why I didn't tell you, aren't you?" he asked as he let his fingers caress her hair again. "I guess with you being so busy, I just didn't want to bother you." He lied, hoping she wouldn't be able to pick up on it.

Fortunately for him, Moze believed him. "Yeah, I haven't had had much time for you and Cookie lately, and I'm sorry for that."

"Moze, will you stop apologizing?" he laughed. "You have nothing to worry about." He told her warmly. "It isn't your fault."

"I could have made a greater effort to spend time with you guys." She said sadly.

"Moze, that doesn't matter now," Ned responded seriously, turning around to face her, still keeping his arm around her and lifting her chin so that he could stare into her brown eyes. "You are still our best friend, and Cookie and I know that you just have too many things on your plate right now." He laughed. "And besides, we get to spend the next few hours together…or until someone comes and opens the door for us."

Moze snickered. Well, she definitely hadn't been this relaxed in weeks. She had been barely able to sleep in the last weeks, and all it really took to relax her was Ned. "Yeah, so let's make the most of it."

They sat there, and talked for the next hour about anything that came into mind, something they hadn't been able to do in weeks now. All feelings of tiredness disappeared as she heard about the latest happenings. Ned kept Moze laughing the whole time with his crazy ideas and stories. He certainly hadn't changed over the years.

A comfortable silence settled between them after a while, and Moze eyed Ned curiously. "Ned?"

"Yeah?" he responded.

"What has been bothering you?" she asked finally.

"I-" He tried to make up an excuse quickly, but was interrupted.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"_Should I tell her?" _He asked himself, avoiding her warm gaze. Ned had never hidden anything from Moze until lately. "_I guess the least I owe her is some honesty." _Ned just hoped it wouldn't make things awkward between them. The words actually hung in his throat before he was finally able to say them. "It's about a girl," he said finally, under Moze's inquisitive gaze.

"What about her?" Moze asked, daring to look into his beautiful blue eyes.

Moze could see the inner battle raging within him. "_Why was he so afraid to tell her?"_ One moment, he looked ready to tell her. Another, Ned looked like he would rather not.

Ned knew that he had to tell her. This had been driving him crazy the last few weeks, and the only solution he actually saw to it, was to tell Moze. She would eventually find out—_right?_ This is why he needed to speak to Gordy. Too bad Cookie couldn't tell him what to do when he asked. But he had to do something. And so he went on. "I—I think that I'm in love with her," he said blushing, avoiding her gaze at all costs.

Moze gasped in surprise. She had thought that maybe there was a girl he liked, or had a crush on. _"But really love her?"_ she asked herself. She hadn't quite thought it was possible.

"She's the best thing that ever happened to me," he continued bravely. "And she's the most beautiful person I know, on the inside and on the outside. You know what I love the most about her? Her smile, it can light up anything. She can make every day the greatest, and I would rather spend most of my time with her and not other people."

Moze smiled sadly at him. "So you're sure, then?"

"Yes," Ned said resolutely. "Now that I think about it, I know." He smiled.

"Then, why don't you tell her?" she said as her heart broke a little more with every word.

Ned sighed and put his hands on his crossed knees. "She has no idea I love her. And there is no way she could feel the same way."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked softly.

"Because she sees me as only her friend and I do not want to ruin our friendship."

"Ned, you should tell her." Moze advised. "You will never know how she really feels about you."

"I already told you. I don't want to risk it." Ned smiled at the irony of the situation. "Her friendship is too important to me. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if this separates us for forever? What if we end up getting hurt?"

"Look," she said, sliding closer to him until their knees touched and placed her hands on top of his. "If she really is your friend, then nothing's going to change, even if she doesn't feel the same way. She will still care for you, and you guys will continue to be friends… "

Ned let his fingers entwine with hers. "You really think that?" he asked, a ray of hope shining in his eyes.

Moze grinned and squeezed his hands. "Yes, I do. And if she doesn't want to be your friend after you tell her, it's her loss. You're a great guy, and if she does that, she doesn't deserve you," she said sincerely.

He grinned back, his blue eyes lighting up. "Thank you Moze." Maybe some day soon he would be able to take her advice. Ned knew deep inside of him that she was right, but he didn't want to rush into anything just yet. He didn't want to get hurt, or worse, hurt her.

"Is it anyone I know?" Moze asked suddenly, without thinking. She hoped she didn't know her, or it would be even more difficult.

"You know her very well," Ned answered trying to avoid the real answer.

Moze felt a pang of jealousy but told herself that she was being silly. _"Remember, Ned is still your best friend. You want him to be happy, even if it breaks your heart."_ She continued reluctantly. "I really think that once we get out of this closet you should go out and tell her how you feel immediately. Just…do it before it's too late," she almost pleaded.

Ned looked strangely at her. _"Why is she so insistent that I do it? Does she even know who I'm talking about?"_ Thoughts ran through his head as he tried to look into her eyes, but Moze kept her eyes on the ground. But at the same time, he was acutely aware of how well their hands fit together.

"_**Just…do it before it's too late,"**_

Her words reverberated in his mind. Maybe he should do it. Eventually he would have to stop being a coward and confront her anyways. _"What if she really felt the same way? What if he lost her to someone else because he was never brave enough to tell her how he felt?" _Ned had to be honest with her. He sighed resolutely. He had to do it. He would never know if he never tried, as she herself had voiced earlier.

"Moze…" he started nervously, squeezing her hands, "I don't need to leave this closet to tell her how I feel."

Moze's gaze immediately rose to look into his eyes, her heart beating quickly. "Are you trying to tell me-"

"Yes," he interrupted her by placing a gentle finger on her pink lips. "I mean, that what I'm trying to tell you is that I love you." He sighed, looking into her shocked gaze. "I have for a long time, but I couldn't tell you. Until today, that is," he added as an afterthought, "and everything you told me. I knew I had to take a chance, even if you didn't feel the same way," he said sincerely, lowering his hand from her face.

"H-how are you so sure that I don't feel the same way?" she stuttered, not knowing what to say just yet.

He smiled. "Moze, we've been friends for so long now that I can read you like a book. For me, it's obvious that you _do_ care for me, but only as a friend," he finished sadly.

Suddenly, her heart exploded with joy, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud at his naïveté. "Ned, why do you think I have taken on so many responsibilities and activities lately?"

"There's a reason behind it?" he asked confused. "I mean, other than having a good transcript for college?"

"Yes," she answered. Moze looked directly into his eyes and continued, "You see Ned, I had to find a way to get you out of my head. I thought I was the only one that had these feelings."

"Wait a minute," he said suddenly. "Does this mean you feel the same way I do?" he asked, hope shining in his eyes.

She leaned forward until their noses touched and whispered, "Yes. I love you too."

Ned didn't respond out loud. He merely closed the remaining space between them and placed his lips softly on hers, his hand rising up to frame Moze's face.

It was incredible. Both of them poured into that single kiss every little thing they felt for each other. It was nothing like anything else either of them had ever experienced, and Ned was glad that he had told Moze what he felt for her. In fact, he didn't know why he had taken so long. She smiled against his lips. And Moze could honestly say she had never been as happy as she was now, with Ned's lips on hers.

At length, they pulled away, still staying close. "Am I dreaming?" Moze asked Ned softly.

He laughed. "If you are dreaming, then it's a hell of a good dream we're sharing,"

She only smiled. "I can't believe we took so long."

"I can't believe we had to be stuck in a closet for it to happen," Ned responded.

"For once, I don't mind skipping all of my activities," she said placing their lips together again.

"I'm relieved," he responded laughing again after they separated. "So let's make the most of it," he repeated her earlier phrase. "It's true, you know, everything I said earlier Moze. I love you."

"I know, and I love you too."

And for the first time in the entire afternoon, she was actually glad that she had been stuck in a closet with Ned.


End file.
